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Copy Protection Flags
Posted on 04 April 2011 04:08 PM
There are multiple types of copy protection flags, all controlled by the content provider.  All of them control the same things, which is encryption and copy-protection (i.e. storage and transfer) of the content.

The possible flag types are:

  • Copy Control Information (CCI)
  • Macrovision
  • Analog Protection System (APS)
  • Copy Generation Management System - Analog (CGMS-A)
  • Redistribution Control (RC)

Each of these flags control what the receiving device is allowed to do with the content.  The restrictions can be:

  • Copy Free
  • No More Copies
  • Copy Once
  • Copy Never

If multiple flags are present on the channel at the same time one overrides the other, with precedence in the order listed. For example, if CGMS-A flags the content as Copy Never, but CCI is also there and it says Copy Free, then the content will be Copy Free.

The CCI flags come from the CableCARD. Anything encrypted on the wire (i.e. non-ClearQAM) has to be decrypted by the CableCARD and therefore CCI is used, overwriting anything else that might be there.

For channels that are ClearQAM, the CableCARD doesn't decrypt them so the InfiniTV does not receive any CCI value, therefore any of the other flags which are present on the channel are respected.